*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info

Dell customer gets Windows refund


Thanks to Dell, one UK Linux user has succeeded in the perennial quest to buy and use a laptop without paying for an unused bundled OS.

By Don Marti, LinuxWorld.com, 11/07/06

Dell today gave freelance programmer and sysadmin Dave Mitchell, of Sheffield, UK, a refund of 47 pounds ($89) for the unused copy of Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 bundled with his new Dell Inspiron 640m laptop, Mitchell says. Dell also refunded the tax, for a total of £55.23 ($105).

With few laptops available without the so-called "Microsoft tax", Windows refund requests have long been a slow movement among Linux community organizers. A few Linux users have reported success, but most laptop vendors have refused to honor the refund clause in Microsoft's End User License Agreement (EULA) unless the user returns the entire laptop. A Dell spokesperson was not aware of any policy change.

The online version of the Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition EULA states, "You agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA by installing, copying, or otherwise using the software. If you do not agree, do not install, copy, or use the software; you may return it to your place of purchase for a full refund, if applicable."

The language in the version that Mitchell received was slightly different. It read, "If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, you may not use or copy the software, and should promptly contact manufacturer for instructions on return of the unused product(s) for a refund in accordance with manufacturer's return policies."

Mitchell ordered his Dell laptop on Oct. 21, and it arrived on Oct. 27. He sent a postal letter requesting a refund to Dell's Bracknell, UK office on Nov. 1, received a phone call two days later, and his refund today, he says.

Dell has not yet requested that Mitchell return his Microsoft hologram sticker or any other materials bundled with the system. The laptop did not come with a Windows CD.

Mitchell was careful to document that he did not run the Microsoft product or accept the EULA. "I booted the laptop, then photographed every step of the boot process up to and including clicking on the XP 'no I don't accept' button. I also scrolled through each page of the EULA, taking a photo of each page," he wrote in an e-mail interview.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/110706-dell-windows.html

 

The Coolest Coffee Maker Ever?
Posted by: Digital Dave on November 08, 2006 12:02 PM
Oh man... as a coffee enthusiast (border line manic) I must have this. What a cool coffee maker. Sure a little steep in price but... damn... this is cool.

"it also provides animated weather information on its large, bright-blue backlit LCD display. MSN Direct region-specific up-to-the-minute weather information is transmitted via an FM signal within minutes of plugging in the coffeemaker--there's no set-up, subscription, or Internet connection required. The appliance displays the current temperature and conditions, high and low temperatures, and chance of precipitation, as well as four-day weather forecasts. The coffeemaker also displays scrolling weather information; visibility; sunrise/sunset time; the UV index; and national weather-service warnings and alerts (the display flashes when a warning alert is issued). In addition to its optional sleep function, where if the unit is idle for a period of time an animated, napping cat appears."

- blogs.msdn.com

...and it makes coffee !!!

Check out this Smart Personal Object coffee maker that you can purchase on Amazon in the US. The device will tell you the time and local weather conditions, and makes coffee. Based on the .NET MicroFramework the device functions very similarl to a SPOT watch letting you know what to expect before you crawl out from under the covers...

* Optional sleep function: if unit is idle for a period of time an animated cat appears
* Grind select: select from 7 grind selections or turn grinder off to brew already ground coffee
* Easy pour water reservoir with large viewing window
* Pause and pour functionality
* Warming plate with auto shut off
* Permanent stainless steel filter basket
* Hidden cord storage
* User interface fluent in 3 languages (English, French, and Spanish)
* Animated, region specific 4-day weather forecast
* Current temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius
* Current conditions, high/low temperature, and chance of precipitation
* Visibility, sunrise/sunset time, and UV index
* National weather service warning and alerts
* Display flashes when a warning alert is issued
* 10-cup capacity
* Measures 8 by 11 by 14 inches
* One-year limited warranty

http://blogs.msdn.com/davbaker/archive/2006/11/08/and-it-makes-coffee.aspx

 

Adware may be lurking in video on MySpace
Posted by: Digital Dave on November 08, 2006 11:13 AM
Ya think?

Several MySpace pages offer what appear to be YouTube videos that trigger the installation of adware when played, a security company has warned.

The sexually explicit videos can be found on a number of user pages on the MySpace social-networking Web site, Websense said in an alert Monday. They look like YouTube videos, but are in fact hosted on a copycat "Yootube.info" Web site, Websense said. That Web site was still online as of Tuesday evening.

- News.com Post

story here
http://news.com.com/Adware+may+be+lurking+in+video+on+MySpace/2100-7349_3-6133447.html?tag=nefd.top

 

Mozilla Thunderbird for Windows 1.5.0.8 is updated



Updated for the masses.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a redesign of the Mozilla mail component. The goal is to produce a cross platform stand alone mail application using the XUL user interface language. The intended customer is someone who uses Mozilla Firefox (or another stand alone browser) as their primary browser and wants a mail client based on mozilla that "plays nice" with the browser.

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

 

FREE..... MS Process Monitor, Free system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit

FYI Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

Process Monitor runs on Windows 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista as well as x64 versions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. Process Monitor v1.0--Download Process Monitor (913 KB) Linked by shanmuga Wed Nov8 2006 6:22am EST

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessMonitor.zip

 

Attackers end run around IE security

ie This weekend, security researchers discovered a Web site using an previously unknown, or zero day, vulnerability in a relatively unused ActiveX component of Windows to infect visitor's systems. ActiveX components act as a common way to exchange data between various components of Windows. While the flawed ActiveX component--a part of Microsoft's XML Core Services 4.0--is not shipped with Internet Explorer, attackers can use the browser to trigger the flaw and compromise any system on which the ActiveX control is installed.

The vulnerability underscores that the improvements in security in the latest version of Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer 7, do not eliminate the threats of older components of Windows, said Gunter Ollmann, director of IBM Internet Security Systems' X-Force vulnerability research team. Attackers end-run around IE security Linked by shanmuga Wed Nov8 2006 6:06am EST


Attackers end-run around IE security
Robert Lemos, SecurityFocus 2006-11-07

The dependence of Internet Explorer on other Windows components has allowed online attackers to work around the shored-up security of Microsoft's latest browser.

This weekend, security researchers discovered a Web site using an previously unknown, or zero-day, vulnerability in a relatively unused ActiveX component of Windows to infect visitor's systems. ActiveX components act as a common way to exchange data between various components of Windows. While the flawed ActiveX component--a part of Microsoft's XML Core Services 4.0--is not shipped with Internet Explorer, attackers can use the browser to trigger the flaw and compromise any system on which the ActiveX control is installed.

The vulnerability underscores that the improvements in security in the latest version of Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer 7, do not eliminate the threats of older components of Windows, said Gunter Ollmann, director of IBM Internet Security Systems' X-Force vulnerability research team.

"IE7 has made it a little bit harder for the attackers to do this," he said. "But once someone figures out how to bypass the security, they tell everyone else about it, and it it becomes the new standard."

The discovery of an exploit attacking a previously unknown vulnerability underscores the difficulty in closing down attacks on ActiveX components through the browser. ActiveX allows Web sites to add interactivity and greater functionality to a visitor's browsing experience. However, because the technology allows Web site to affect changes on a visitor's PCs, the software components can also pose a danger.

ActiveX has been serious sore spot for Microsoft in its quest for hardening its operating system and applications against attacks. The technology evolved from the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) features created in 1990 to allow Windows applications to exchange data. The general framework became the Component Object Model in 1993--now known as the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)--while Microsoft renamed OLE 2.0 as ActiveX and pushed Web developers to add more interactivity to their sites using the technology. As such, Internet Explorer became a common way of accessing a variety of the ActiveX components installed on a Windows computer.

Online criminals frequently use flaws in ActiveX to install malicious code on victim's PCs via their browsers. One tool--known as WebAttacker and sold from a Russian Web site for about $20--has had great success in compromising the security of victims' computers. In one case, a flaw in the Windows Data Access Components, an ActiveX control fixed in April by Microsoft, the attack tool successfully infected the visitor's PC between 12 percent and 15 percent, according to Web security firm Websense.

Many of the ActiveX controls resident on consumers' PCs can no longer be accessed from Internet Explorer 7, under the browser's enhanced security model. However, the flawed XMLHTTP 4.0 ActiveX control, used in some corporate applications to access sites based on the extensible markup language (XML), escaped Microsoft's crackdown on dangerous components.

"There are loads of (ActiveX controls) that come with Windows and other applications that are disabled by default--this particular one is not," said Gary Schare, director of IE product management for Microsoft.

The ActiveX component made it onto Microsoft's list of preapproved controls, which are components that are frequently accessed by Windows users and that the company feels have had a solid level of security testing. The security audit obviously missed a vulnerability, but the threat model for reducing the risk of attack has worked well, Schare said.

"In general, the attack surface area for ActiveX has gone down dramatically," he said.



The flawed XMLHTTP 4.0 ActiveX control is considered legacy code by Microsoft, and a review of the component will determine whether it will be included in future version of the XML libraries.

Eliminating such legacy code would help Microsoft reduce its security problems, Marcus Sachs, director of the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center.

"Microsoft has to deal with the fact that their software has to be backward compatible, and that is a major source of security holes," Sachs said. "The other problem is that millions of lines of code that makes up Windows. They could pull out a old module and find out that it was a patch to a flaw that they have just opened up again."

The enhanced security of Internet Explorer 7 has convinced many security researchers to make the switch as soon as possible. The Internet Storm Center has seen about a quarter of its visitors--who are mainly information and security professionals--that use Internet Explorer upgrade to the latest version. Yet, even that pales compared to users of Mozilla's Firefox browser--about half of the ISC's visitors using that browser have upgraded to Firefox 2.0, according to the SANS Institute.

Because Microsoft has not yet made Internet Explorer 7 part of its automated update systems, the overall move to the latest version has been modest, according to digital marketing and enterprise analytics provider WebSideStory. Only about 5.8 percent of consumers that use Internet Explorer have upgraded. That's an improvement over consumers using Firefox: Only 1.7 percent of those users have upgraded to the latest version, the company said.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer accounts for some 89 percent of the 30 million unique daily visitors the company tracks, while Mozilla's Firefox accounts for 10 percent.

Despite the flaw, consumers and business users should upgrade to the latest versions of their browsers and consider setting the kill bit for the ActiveX control or setting the Internet and local security zones to "high," two of the workarounds suggested by Microsoft, said Craig Schmugar, virus research manager at security software firm McAfee's antivirus labs. Even though only a single Web site has usd the exploit so far, more will likely follow, he said.

"I would not be surprised if in the next day or two we see a public posting of the exploit code and that will open up the realm to other attackers to take advantage of it," Schmugar said.

In the end, Microsoft's release of its next-generation operating system for the desktop, Windows Vista, will close down many avenues for attack. Under Vista, Internet Explorer will run in a new mode that limits access to most of the operating system's facilities, protecting data and the software. Called "protected mode," the feature will limit the access rights of Internet Explorer and stop most ActiveX abuse in its tracks, said Microsoft's Schare.

"This particular vulnerability would not affect Windows Vista at all, because of protected mode," he said. "The vulnerability would still be there but no exploit would be possible."
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11422

 

Antivirus Vendors Miss Stration Worm's Second Spamming Stage

virus1 Antivirus vendors completely missed the fact that the most massive worm attack in months has a secondary payload that has sent millions of pharmaceutical spam messages, a security intelligence company revealed Tuesday.

The Stration worm, aka Warezov, has been topic number one for anti-virus firms for almost three months, but until recently they hadn't figured out that the malware kicks into second gear about six hours after it's installed. Then, said Reston, Va.-based VeriSign iDefense, it begins sending massive amounts of spam touting Viagra, Xanax, and Propecia prescription medicines. Antivirus Vendors Miss Stration Worm's Second Spamming Stage - News by InformationWeek Linked by shanmuga Wed Nov8 2006 5:55am EST

Antivirus Vendors Miss Stration Worm's Second Spamming Stage


Antivirus vendors completely missed the fact that the most massive worm attack in months has a secondary payload that has sent millions of pharmaceutical spam messages, a security intelligence company revealed Tuesday.


By Gregg Keizer
TechWeb News

Nov 7, 2006 01:30 PM

Anti-virus vendors missed the fact that the most massive worm attack in months has a secondary payload that has sent millions of pharmaceutical spam messages, a security intelligence company revealed Tuesday.

The Stration worm, aka Warezov, has been topic number one for anti-virus firms for almost three months, but until recently they hadn't figured out that the malware kicks into second gear about six hours after it's installed. Then, said Reston, Va.-based VeriSign iDefense, it begins sending massive amounts of spam touting Viagra, Xanax, and Propecia prescription medicines.

"Lots of AV vendors have been saying that Stration doesn't have a payload," said Mike La Pilla, an iDefense analyst. "But it does. It just takes six hours. Then it contacts a different domain, downloads a spamming Trojan, and starts sending mail."

total article here

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193600369&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

 

EULA La Vista, Baby


By Lore Sjöberg| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Nov, 08, 2006

There have been a lot of concerns about the end-user license agreement for Windows Vista. For instance, once you agree to the license you are not allowed to publish benchmark results without Microsoft's permission, and you can't install Vista on a virtual machine unless you shell out for the pricier version. Well, I've taken a good look at the license agreement -- I had insomnia -- and I've discovered some clauses that will freeze your blood, curl your hair, and do your nails.

Windows Rules: You must agree that the operating system rules. It is suggested, but not required, that you also agree that it rocks. Similarly, you may not access or make use of any feature or application of the operating system without first acknowledging that the feature or application also rules. If asked your opinion of the operating system, you must reply in a loud voice -- or all caps, if communicating in text -- "IT RULES!" accompanied by one or more of the following gestures:

* configuration of the fingers into devil horns
* vigorous head-banging
* a quick "air guitar" gesture
* stage diving
* if communicating using text, no less than five exclamation points

No Apple Computers: This OS may not be installed onto a computer that also houses any version of the Mac OS operating system. It may not be installed onto a computer in the same room as a computer manufactured by Apple Computer. If you use a Mac, you must wash your hands for at least 30 seconds with an antimicrobial soap and rinse thoroughly before using Windows Vista. We reserve the right to fry any iPod plugged into the system so crispy you'll think it was catfish. We have a music player, it's called a Zune, get one.

Transfer of License: While normally we allow free transfer of the Vista license from computer to computer, provided the operating system is uninstalled from the old computer first, we will require the purchase of a new license under the following specific circumstances:

* The original license was obtained from a version of Vista installed on an OEM system
* The new system was purchased more than 18 months after the purchase of the original OS
* The new system requires nonstandard device drivers or upgraded system components
* You have ever called Microsoft tech support for any reason
* The new system is one of those Alienware things, because if you can afford to spend that much to play games you can kick a little cash our way
* You have at least $300 in your bank account

Windows DRM: You may not use this system to remove DRM protection from Microsoft-provided media. "Removing DRM" is defined as stripping out protection, reverse-engineering code, using third-party circumvention software, installing non-DRM versions of DRM media, refusing to purchase our media in the first place, or reading Boing Boing.

Future Licenses: By using Windows Vista, you agree to not only this license, but to any future revisions to this license. You also agree to any future licenses for other products from Microsoft, whether or not you actually purchase them, and to any revisions to those licenses, including terms that require you to agree to other licenses, and revisions to those licenses. You agree that if you attempt to not agree to these licenses, then you automatically agree to yet another license, and it's a lot harsher than this license, so just watch yourself.

Steve Jobs Is a Bozo: You don't have to agree to this. We just felt it needed to be said.
http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72085-0.html?tw=rss.index

 

Download your Blue Screen of Death - from Microsoft

Who says Microsoft has not got broad shoulders. Witness this neat little app - BlueScreen Saver 3.2 - available for download from Microsoft's very own website.



One of the most feared colors in the NT world is blue. The infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will pop up on an NT system whenever something has gone terribly wrong. Bluescreen is a screen saver that not only authentically mimics a BSOD, but will simulate startup screens seen during a system boot.
• On NT 4.0 installations it simulates chkdsk of disk drives with errors!

• On Win2K and Windows 9x it presents the Win2K startup splash screen, complete with rotating progress band and progress control updates!

• On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 it present the XP/Server 2003 startup splash screen with progress bar!

Bluescreen cycles between different Blue Screens and simulated boots every 15 seconds or so. Virtually all the information shown on Bluescreen's BSOD and system start screen is obtained from your system configuration - its accuracy will fool even advanced NT developers. For example, the NT build number, processor revision, loaded drivers and addresses, disk drive characteristics, and memory size are all taken from the system Bluescreen is running on.

Use Bluescreen to amaze your friends and scare your enemies!

Bluescreen runs on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 9x (it requires DirectX).

Could it be that Microsoft has developed an unexpectedly wry sense of humor? Or maybe it just wants to get its back on whiney sysadmins - (what the hell are they still doing with NT, anyway)


go here to get ye BLUE SCREEN OD DEATH
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/BlueScreen.mspx

 

Mozilla fixes 'critical' flaws

By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: November 8, 2006, 4:15 PM PST
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Mozilla has released updates for its Firefox browser, Thunderbird e-mail application and the SeaMonkey application suite to fix "critical" security vulnerabilities.

The vulnerabilities affect 1.5 versions of Firefox and Thunderbird as well as version 1 of the SeaMonkey suite, Mozilla said in its security advisories. The bugs do not affect Firefox 2.0, the latest version of the browser released late last month.

Security monitoring companies Secunia and the French Security Incident Response Team, or FrSIRT, deem the issues "highly critical" and "critical," respectively. People who use vulnerable versions of the Mozilla products are urged to upgrade to the fixed versions, both companies said.

Mozilla has fixed a number of bugs that could cause its products to crash or, in some cases, be exploited to hijack a PC, it said in an advisory. Other problems that have been repaired include a flaw that could be abused to run malicious JavaScript and a vulnerability that could let miscreants fake digital signatures, Mozilla said.

"The security vulnerabilities could be exploited by malicious people to bypass security restrictions, conduct cross-site scripting attacks and potentially compromise a vulnerable system," Secunia said in its alert.

Mozilla plans to support Firefox 1.5 until October 2007, one year after it shipped Firefox 2. The security flaws are fixed in Firefox 1.5.0.8, Thunderbird 1.5.0.8 and SeaMonkey 1.0.6. The previous Firefox security update was released in September.
http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-6133821.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news

 

FREE,ROOTKIT HOOK ANALYZER..........

RootKit Hook Analyzer is a security tool which will check if there are any rootkits installed on your computer which hook the kernel system services. Kernel RootKit Hooks are installed modules which intercept the principal system services that all programs and the operating system rely on. If any of these system services are intercepted and modified it means that there is a possibility that the safety of your system is at risk and that spyware, viruses or malware are active .....(free).....GO THERE!

GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD
http://www.resplendence.com/downloads

 

FREE,DAZ STUDIO..........
Whether you're just getting started in 3D, or are an avid 3D artist and enthusiast, DAZ Studio will allow you to express yourself in 3D like never before. Imagine being able to easily create your own convincing 3d artwork. You don't need to take any special courses or read any complicated books. Perhaps you have a scene in your mind that you'd like to create. Choose your 3D subjects and their virtual environment, and then let DAZ Studio fill in the rest for you. Or, perhaps you've found an interesting 3D character that you enjoy and would like to build a scene around it. Either way, DAZ Studio can be the means to bring everything together into a stunning representation of your limitless imagination .....(free).....GO THERE!

http://www.daz3d.com/program/studio/index.php

 

Google accidentally sends out e-mail worm


By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: November 8, 2006, 4:19 PM PST
Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this

Google on Tuesday inadvertently sent the Kama Sutra e-mail worm to the 50,000 subscribers of a Google Video e-mail group.

Three postings were made Tuesday evening to an e-mail list that sends out postings to the Google Video blog. "Some of these posts may have contained a virus called W32/Kapser.A@mm--a mass-mailing worm," Google said in a note on its Web site apologizing for the incident.

W32/Kapser.A is better known as the Kama Sutra worm. Some antivirus companies raised an alarm about the threat in February, but it ultimately shriveled. Kama Sutra was designed to overwrite files on infected computers on a specific date. However, the worm, which spread under the guise of pornographic content, caused virtually no damage.

Google advises people who may have received the worm in e-mail or downloaded it from the group's Web site to run an antivirus program to remove it. The company is taking steps to make sure it doesn't make the same mistake again, it said.

The Google Video e-mail group is open to anyone. It had 50,025 subscribers as of Wednesday afternoon. The contents are advertised as interesting and fun videos from Google Video.

Google has had several mishaps lately. Its corporate blog has been hacked and, at one point, the company also accidentally deleted its official blog.

http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6133829.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news

 

Here it comes VISTA DRM

p2pnet.net news view:- Earlier today we ran a brief saying Bill and the Boyz have released Vista to Big Business. Us common folk aren't slated to be in line for it until the end of January next year.

"I'm sure most of you aren't, but if any readers are considering moving to Vista, please read this first," suggests Chris Ovenden in a Reader's Write.

The link points to a long Wikipedia post describing features new to Vista. The section Chris thinks you might find interesting is slugged Digital Rights Management or, as p2pnet prefers to call it, CCT (Consumer Control Technology).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista#Digital_Rights_Management

Digital Rights Management

Microsoft is introducing a number of Digital Rights Management and content-protection features in Windows Vista, to help digital content providers, corporations, and end-users protect their data from being copied.

* PUMA: Protected User Mode Audio (PUMA) is the new User Mode Audio (UMA) audio stack. Its aim is to provide an environment for audio playback that restricts the copying of copyrighted audio, and restricts the enabled audio outputs to those allowed by the publisher of the protected content[16].
* Protected Video Path - Output Protection Management (PVP-OPM) is a technology that prevents copying of protected digital video streams, or their display on video devices that lack equivalent copy protection (typically HDCP). Microsoft claims that without these restrictions the content industry may prevent PCs from playing copyrighted content by refusing to issue license keys for the encryption used by HD DVD, Blu-Ray Disc, or other copy-protected systems[16].
* Protected Video Path - User-Accessible Bus (PVP-UAB) is similar to PVP-OPM, except that it applies encryption of protected content over the PCI Express bus.
* Rights Management Services (RMS) support, a technology that will allow corporations to apply DRM-like restrictions to corporate documents, email, and intranets to protect them from being copied, printed, or even opened by people not authorized to do so. MSN Spaces will also offer an open RMS server that home users and smaller businesses can use to extend this ability to their own documents.[citation needed]


Either way, it is indeed worth a look, so here it is:

Digital Rights Management

Microsoft is introducing a number of Digital Rights Management and content-protection features in Windows Vista, to help digital content providers, corporations, and end-users protect their data from being copied.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management

* PUMA: Protected User Mode Audio (PUMA) is the new User Mode Audio (UMA) audio stack. Its aim is to provide an environment for audio playback that restricts the copying of copyrighted audio, and restricts the enabled audio outputs to those allowed by the publisher of the protected content[16].

* Protected Video Path - Output Protection Management (PVP-OPM) is a technology that prevents copying of protected digital video streams, or their display on video devices that lack equivalent copy protection (typically HDCP). Microsoft claims that without these restrictions the content industry may prevent PCs from playing copyrighted content by refusing to issue license keys for the encryption used by HD DVD, Blu-Ray Disc, or other copy-protected systems[16].

* Protected Video Path - User-Accessible Bus (PVP-UAB) is similar to PVP-OPM, except that it applies encryption of protected content over the PCI Express bus.

* Rights Management Services (RMS) support, a technology that will allow corporations to apply DRM-like restrictions to corporate documents, email, and intranets to protect them from being copied, printed, or even opened by people not authorized to do so. MSN Spaces will also offer an open RMS server that home users and smaller businesses can use to extend this ability to their own documents.[citation needed]

Cheers, Chris.

Also See:
common folk - Vista goes to Big Business, November 9, 2006

p2pnet newsfeeds for your site.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss
Mobile - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php

(Thursday 9th November 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/10371?PHPSESSID=e7c12fbcd1c1a35f49110aff6976570b

 

Atari Founder Forecasts PlayStation 3 Failure

Creator of Pong and the man behind Chuck E. Cheese gives thumbs up to Wii and Xbox 360, but thumbs down for PlayStation 3

Nolan Bushnell, founder of all things at one point joyous to children, is featured in an interview with Red Herring where he is asked for his opinion on the state of the video game industry today.

Bushnell, who started Atari, is one of the grandfathers of the video game industry. When asked about about which areas he still follows of his former industry, he said, "I’m very curious and interested in the Nintendo Wii. I think it may expand the market beyond the hardcore [18- to 24-year old]."

He also expressed fondness for Microsoft's online strategy, saying, "Xbox Live is interesting because it potentially becomes the platform for the living room."

But the tuned changed to a less positive note when it came to PlayStation 3.

"I think Sony shot themselves in the foot… there is a high probability [they] will fail. The price point is probably unsustainable. For years and years Sony has been a very difficult company to deal with from a developer standpoint. They could get away with their arrogance and capriciousness because they had an installed base," Bushnell said.

Bushnell explained that ease of software development could be a deciding factor: "They have also historically had horrible software tools. You compare that to the Xbox 360 with really great authoring tools [and] additional revenue streams from Xbox live… a first party developer would be an idiot to develop for Sony first and not the 360. People don’t buy hardware, they buy software."

The interviewer then gave a counterpoint, stating that Sony must have been doing something right in order to sell over 100 million units of each PlayStation generation.

"It wasn’t anything brilliant that they did. With the PS and PS2 it was timing. They had the right pricing at the right time [and were] almost the accidental winner," answered Bushnell. "It would not surprise me if a year from now they’ll be struggling to sell 1 million units. [Factoring in the PS3’s price], I think in the U.S. the number of early adopters you have is actually around 300,000."

Sony is targeting to ship 400,000 PlayStation 3 consoles to the U.S. for its launch window, and a considerable portion of the allotment already sold out via pre-orders.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4880

 

$1 of Zune price goes straight to Universal Music, won't pass "go"

11/9/2006 1:41:10 PM, by Anders Bylund

Microsoft's Zune media player, due for retail release next week, will have the support of Vivendi Universal in an unusual contract form. For every $249 Zune player sold, Universal will get $1 (subscription required) to make up for the "unauthorized content" the company expects will make its way onto the device.

Universal says that half of the fees collected will be passed on to its stable of recording artists, including U2, Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Luciano Pavarotti, and Bon Jovi. The rest will presumably pad Vivendi's income statement a bit and make up for some of the lost CD sales revenue the industry bemoans at every opportunity.

Microsoft says it is discussing similar deals with other studios. The Zune has a wireless song-sharing feature that could raise the hackles of music industry executives, and at less than 0.5 percent of the total sale price, Universal's cut appears rather reasonable. The motivation for it, however, is open for discussion.

"The only factor was that we feel that there's a great deal of music that's (stored) on these devices that was never legitimately obtained, and we wanted to get some sort of compensation for what we thought we're losing," said Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris, a previous acquaintance here at Ars. "I want our artists to be paid for the music that makes these devices popular." He then goes on to lament the fact that end users tend to rip their own CDs onto iPods and other music players.

I'm sorry, but Universal already got paid for that content when the CD was sold, and ripping the songs for use on newfangled digital music players falls squarely under "fair use." Why should I have to pay Apple for a digital copy of Living on a Prayer when I already own Slippery When Wet? Yet that's exactly what Morris wants to see. The studios have the right to refuse access to their catalogs for any particular digital music service, and they use that trump card to squeeze every penny they can out of the common consumer.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061109-8187.html

 

Photosynth technology preview is live!!!
Posted by: Digital Dave on November 09, 2006 5:43 PM
This is kinda cool...

Photosynth is an incredible technology which I've had the pleasure of working with recently and now you can try it for yourself at http://labs.live.com/photosynth/

The whole concept of taking overlapping photos of an area and having a server-side process analyse the image content and match them to create a full 3D world is amazing. This is one of those technologies that could really have amazing social and community consequences - well worth a look!

Windows XP SP2 and Vista Only

The Photosynth technology preview runs only on Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista.


link to the download
here
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/

 

Patch Tuesday - 6 Fixes will Roll...
Posted by: Digital Dave on November 09, 2006 3:52 PM
Count'em folks 6 of these bad boys... that's more than the fingers on one hand.

Microsoft on Tuesday plans to issue six security bulletins, including at least one with a fix for a security vulnerability that is actively being used in cyberattacks.

As part of its monthly patching cycle, Microsoft will release a bulletin with a "critical" fix for a security hole in its XML Core Services software, the company said in a note on its Web site Thursday. The vulnerability is a so-called zero-day flaw that is already being exploited for attacks.

- News.com Post

link to story
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+to+patch+zero-day+XML+flaw/2100-1002_3-6134137.html?tag=nefd.topere

 

Top 5 Photo Printers


Affordably print your digital photos on these best-of-breed photo printers. Ratings and rankings can change due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.
Edited by Danny Allen
Monday, October 23, 2006, 02:00 PM PDT
Test Center About the Test Center
How We Test • What Our Ratings Mean • How the Charts Work
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to see a Side-by-Side Comparison
Rank Name PCW Rating
1
BEST BUY

HP Photosmart D7360
HP Photosmart D7360
B&W Pages Per Min.: 32
Color Pages Per Min.: 31
Max. B&W dpi: 1200-by-1200
Max. Color dpi: 4800-by-1200
Tray Capacity, pages: 100
Price When Reviewed: $200
Check latest prices
Bottom Line: The D7360 has a great touch screen and prints briskly,...
(Last Rated: October 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

84.8Very Good
2
HP Photosmart 8250
HP Photosmart 8250
B&W Pages Per Min.: 32
Color Pages Per Min.: 31
Max. B&W dpi: 4800-by-1200
Max. Color dpi: 4800-by-1200
Tray Capacity, pages: 100
Price When Reviewed: $199
Check latest prices
Bottom Line: Fast at printing photos, the 8250 offers extensive...
(Last Rated: October 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

83.4Very Good
3
HP Photosmart 8050
HP Photosmart 8050
B&W Pages Per Min.: 30
Color Pages Per Min.: 24
Max. B&W dpi: 1200-by-1200
Max. Color dpi: 4800-by-1200
Tray Capacity, pages: 100
Price When Reviewed: $149
Check latest prices
Bottom Line: Includes impressive software and plenty of buttons. But...
(Last Rated: October 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

82.5Very Good
Printer Cartridges
InkSell.com has prices discounted 70-80% and provides 5-star service. Epson and Canon cartridges start at $2.50. HP and Lexmark refills start at $2.95. Find Xerox, Apple, Compaq and more.
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Printers at Office Depot
Shop for printers at Office Depot. Browse our wide selection of office supplies, machines, furniture, software and technology. You take care of business, we take care of you.
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4
Canon PIXMA iP6700D
Canon PIXMA iP6700D
B&W Pages Per Min.: 18
Color Pages Per Min.: 17
Max. B&W dpi: 9600 by 2400
Max. Color dpi: 9600 by 2400
Tray Capacity, pages: 300
Price When Reviewed: $200
Check latest prices
Bottom Line: The iP6700D has a big color LCD, two-sided printing, and above average photo prints but text quality and speed was average.
(Last Rated: October 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

81.0Very Good
5
Canon Pixma iP5200R
Canon Pixma iP5200R
B&W Pages Per Min.: 30
Color Pages Per Min.: 24
Max. B&W dpi: 600-by-600
Max. Color dpi: 9600-by-2400
Tray Capacity, pages: 150
Price When Reviewed: $230
Check latest prices
Bottom Line: Very good print quality and fast printing make the iP5200R versatile. It has Wi-Fi, though no media card slots or LCD.
(Last Rated: October 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report


GO HERE TO GET ALL THE INFO ON THE ARTICLE
http://pcworld.com/article/id,123932-page,1/article.html

 

RIAA's statutory damage claims...

p2pnet.net news view:- As the world now knows, the Big Four Organized Music cartel in the shape of Warner Music (US), EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France) and Sony BMG (Japan, Germany) have suffered a potentially grievous blow.

The Big Four have what seems to be a virtually limitless supply of so-called trade organizations to do their dirty work - ie, sue their own customers into buying 'product'.

One such is the misnamed RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) which has been claiming each song supposedly illegally distributed online by those wicked p2p file sharers is worth $750 in damages. And the courts have been going along with it ...

... until this week, that is, when New York judge J. Trager ruled Brooklyn home health aide Marie Lindor can add to her defence her claim that the $750-per is unconstitutional.

Moreover, that's 1,071 times too much, she says: if a value is to be ascribed at all, it should be more like 70 cents per song.

Here's Howard Knopf on the case:

From the brave and bold Ray Beckerman - who fights the RIAA:

In UMG v. Lindor, Judge Trager has granted Ms. Lindor's motion to add a defense based on the unconstitutionality of the $750-per-song damages sought by plaintiffs. He rejected the RIAA's arguments that the defense was without merit, that the motion was untimely, that the amendment would prejudice the RIAA, or that Ms. Lindor was required to send a notice to the United States Department of Justice of her defense of unconstitutionality.

Judge Trager ruled:

[P]laintiffs can cite to no case foreclosing the applicability of the due process clause to the aggregation of minimum statutory damages proscribed under the Copyright Act. On the other hand, Lindor cites to case law and to law review articles suggesting that, in a proper case, a court may extend its current due process jurisprudence prohibiting grossly excessive punitive jury awards to prohibit the award of statutory damages mandated under the Copyright Act if they are grossly in excess of the actual damages suffered.....Furthermore, Lindor provides a sworn affidavit asserting that plaintiffs' actual damages are 70 cents per recording and that plaintiffs seek statutory damages under the Copyright Act that are 1,071 times the actual damages suffered. Aff. of Morlan Ty Rogers, ("Rogers Aff.", [pars.]5, 6. See also Aff. of Aram Sinnreich, ("Sinnreich Aff."), [par.] 2, 3 (attesting that popular music sound recording downloads and consumer license to use same are lawfully obtainable to the public at 99 cents per song, and of that 99 cents, roughly 70 cents per song is paid by the retailer to the record label). As FRCP Rule 12(b)(6) requires that this figure be taken as true for purposes of the motion, Lindor has alleged a factual basis supporting her affirmative defense."

This is potentially hugely important. If Ray wins on this issue (RIAA would almost certainly try to get it to the US Supreme Court if he does), it would be, without a doubt, one of the most important copyright cases in modern times...because it would take away the ad terrorem aspect of copyright law from ordinary citizens and the big copyright owners would have to do what normal litigants have to do, which is to prove actual damages. As Ray argues and the Judge notes, "plaintiffs' actual damages are 70 cents per recording and that plaintiffs seek statutory damages under the Copyright Act that are 1,071 times the actual damages suffered."

BTW, a lot of the problems in Canadian copyright law would go away if statutory damages were limited to purely commercial situations and could not be used to intimidate teachers, librarians, researchers, scholars, students and countless ordinary citizens who behave in ordinary ways.

At the time they were enacted in Canada in 1997, only Canada and the USA amongst major countries had the broad concept of statutory damages (i.e. minimum of $500 and $750 per work respectively).

Even in the USA, statutory damages are not available where the activity was done by an educational institution, library, archvive, public broadcaster or employee thereof "in any case where an infringer believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use". The details are available here.

Now, THAT is something that educators should be fighting for here in Canada.

Why should Canada treat its educational user community so much worse than the Americans do? And why should our educators so passively accept this? But it seems that CMEC and others in the educational community are, rather, obsessed with their special educational exception for use of the Internet. There are so many more useful, less harmful and more achievable goals that the educators etc. could be pursuing....and curtailment of statutory damages ought to be at the top of the list.

BTW, Michael Geist now essentially agrees with me on how CMEC's views are not much different than those of Access Copyright in key respects. Here's his podcast of a recent talk.

Howard Knopf - Excess Copyright
[Knopf is an Ottawa-based copyright lawyer who's been lead counsel on legal challenges both at the Copyright Board and in the Courts against the excesses of the music industry establishment. He's regularly quoted in the mainstream media and acted against CRIA in the file sharing litigation, and continues to act against the CPCC, in which CRIA is still a major stakeholder, on the levy front.]

Also See:
$750-per is unconstitutional - Trouble looms for RIAA, November 10, 2006

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(Saturday 11th November 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/10394?PHPSESSID=f8bd667769565f2864838eb7c13f2297